FAQs for Truck Accident Settlements

Truck accident settlements are unique when it comes to personal injury and other car accident settlements.  This is most often due to the fact that truck accidents tend to create more damage and inflict more injuries than almost any other kind of vehicular accident.  If you have been involved in a truck accident, you likely have many questions about your personal injury claim and any truck accident settlement that may result from that claim.  Here are some immediate answers to several of the most frequently asked questions regarding truck accident settlements.

Question: How Is a Commercial Truck Defined?

A commercial truck is considered any truck or vehicle that is used by an individual in the course of their business dealings and/or in the course of transporting and delivering commercial products.  There are many examples of commercial trucks, including tractor trailers, dump trucks, tanker trucks, delivery trucks, semi trucks, 18-wheelers, and freight trucks.

Question: How Do Truck Accidents Differ from the Average Car Accident?

The primary difference, as we previously stated, is that truck accidents tend to be way more damaging than passenger vehicle accidents.  This is typically because of the size of the truck involved in the accident.  Consider this.  The average loaded commercial vehicle could weigh up to 80,000 pounds.  The average passenger vehicle, on the other hand, may weight somewhere around 3,000 pounds.  It is unfortunate, but because of this size disparity and the basic laws of nature, usually any collision between a passenger vehicle and a commercial truck will result in very serious, if not grave, injuries.

Question: What Are the Most Common Causes of Truck Accidents?

The most common causes of truck accidents are actually not all that different from the common causes of most other vehicle accidents.  Some of these include driver fatigue, alcohol or drug abuse by the driver, equipment failure, defective parts, safety issues, overly-defensive driving, and even the improper loading of the commercial vehicle.

Question: I Was Injured by a Truck Driver in an Accident that Wasn’t My Fault.  What Kind of Settlement Can I Expect?

There is no standard calculator to determine the value of truck accident settlements.  However, we do know what kind of damages you can expect to recover in a not-at-fault situation, including hospital expenses, medical bills, loss of income or loss of earning capacity, and pain and suffering resulting from the accident.

Question: If I Want to Make a Personal Injury Claim, Who Do I Sue?

This is an important question, because the goal of any personal injury suit is to hold the responsible party accountable for their actions.  In many cases, there may just be one person responsible for the accident and your injuries; however, in other cases there may be several people or even groups of people who would need to be held responsible.  Ultimately, you will likely attempt to hold the truck driver, the company they work for, and perhaps even the manufacturer of the truck involved if you can show that some defect in the truck was partially responsible for the accident.